CHICAGO (September 22, 2021) - Loyola, which has been tripped up in three of its last four matches, raises the curtain on the Missouri Valley Conference portion of its schedule this weekend when it travels to Missouri State and Southern Illinois. Under fourth-year head coach Amanda Berkley, the Ramblers are a perfect 3-0 in Valley openers, and last season, slipped past Valparaiso in five sets to commence league play. The last time Loyola won four straight conference lid-lifters was 1999 through 2002 as a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference and Horizon League.
 
Last spring, the Ramblers notched an 8-8 record in Valley action, and they have collected eight or more league victories in each of the last three seasons. Prior to this current stretch, Loyola had not recorded eight or more conference wins, regardless of league affiliation, in three straight seasons, since doing so 12 years in a row, from 1994 through 2005.
 
Junior middle hitter Taylor Venuto set a career high when she totaled 12 blocks in the Ramblers' sweep of UIC on September 18 at the Chicago Cup. That figure ranks tied for the fourth-highest, single-match total in program history and that performance helped Venuto earn MVC Defensive Player of the Week accolades earlier this week.
 
Loyola has split its last eight Valley road matches in regular season play and since the start of the 2019 campaign it is 11-7 (.611) away from home in league action.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Karlie McNabb entered the K-State Invitational with just 12 career kills to her name, but broke out in a big way versus the host Wildcats, drilling a career-best 15 kills and adding 10 digs for her first double-double as a Rambler.  She tallied 10 kills last weekend in Loyola's three-set sweep of UIC and is contributing 2.50 kills and 1.71 digs per set over the last four outings.
 
Emily Banitt provided 3.08 kills and 2.31 digs per set in three matches versus Missouri State last season, hammering 15 stops in a MVC quarterfinal round win versus the Bears. 
 
In her last four outings versus MVC opponents, Venuto is hitting .317 (509-12-120) with 2.94 kills and 1.41 blocks per set. She drilled a career-best 20 kills against Missouri State last March and had 18 kills and 10 blocks versus the Bears in the MVC quarterfinals. 
 
Scouting Missouri State
Missouri State has won seven of its last eight matches overall heading into The Valley opener and the Bears are a perfect 3-0 at home, where they have not lost a set, this season. Senior outside hitter Amelia Flynn, a Preseason All-MVC pick who is coming off a 21-kill, 17-dig effort versus Kansas City last weekend, leads the MSU attack with 3.26 kills per set and adds 3.00 digs per set. After losing 11 of the first 12 meetings between the teams, Loyola has claimed five of the last seven matchups, including a five-set victory in the MVC Championship quarterfinals in April. The Ramblers prevailed on their last trip to Springfield, bringing home a four-set victory on November 8, 2019.
 
Scouting Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois enters this weekend's action on a three-match losing skid. The three-pronged attack of Nsia Gittens (3.12 kills per set), Nataly Garcia (3.04 kps) and Tatum Tornatta (2.85 kps) paces the Salukis, who have played a Valley-high seven home matches already this fall. 
 
The Ramblers have claimed eight consecutive matches from the Salukis in Carbondale since a 3-1 setback on September 28, 2013, and are 8-2 overall against SIU at Davies Gym. In the last seven meetings overall between the clubs, Loyola has dropped only three sets. Loyola has captured each of the last 10 meetings with Southern Illinois.
 
Up Next
Loyola plays its first home contests in a month when it welcomes Evansville (Oct. 1) and Indiana State (Oct. 2) to Gentile Arena.